1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable and portable mobile communication terminal represented by a portable mobile telephone. More particularly, the present invention relates to a foldable and portable mobile communication terminal allowing the processing of operational information according to a program incorporated therein, the processing of communication information with an opposite party, related to the aforementioned operational information processing, and data display therefor
2. Description of the Related Art
As an example of such a foldable and portable mobile communication terminal, the following foldable and portable mobile telephone is known. This foldable and portable mobile telephone includes a lower-side body unit and an upper-side body unit. The lower-side body unit has an operation section comprising a plurality of operation buttons each serving an operational function for users. The upper-side body unit has a display section for displaying data on the operational information processing associated with operation with respect to the operation section, and on the processing of communication information with an opposite party, related to the above-described operational information processing. The lower-side and upper-side units are coupled openably and closably by a hinge mechanism constituted of a single-shaft hinge unit, and are formed into a two-folded type. Such a foldable and portable mobile telephone is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 2001-136252.
As a hinge mechanism applied to the foldable and portable mobile telephone, the following one is known. This hinge mechanism includes a hinge unit having a first rotating shaft (rotating shaft for opening and closing). By this hinge unit, the upper-side unit is rotated about the first rotating shaft by an angle of approximately 180 degrees with respect to the lower-side unit into an open state. This open state is defined as a talking position. In the case of such a foldable and portable mobile telephone, on the folded surface of the lower-side body unit with respect to the upper-side body unit, a microphone for collecting sounds is usually provided besides the operation section. On the other hand, on the folded surface of the upper-side body unit with respect to the lower-side body unit, a speaker for uttering voices is provided besides the display section.
As described above, in the case of a conventional foldable and portable communication terminal, the open state in which the upper-side body unit has been rotated with respect to the lower-side body unit by an angle of approximately 180 degrees using the hinge unit, is defined as a talking position. This, however, involves a problem in that the usability in the open position is poor. For example, when the user brings his or her ear near to the speaker on the upper-side body unit while talking with an opposite party, his or her mouth moves away from the microphone on the lower-side body unit, and thereby hard talking could be caused. Also, in this open position, the entire communication terminal with the shape thereof lengthened might be a hindrance to the usage thereof. This is because the conventional foldable and portable mobile communication terminal has no function of rotating the upper-side body unit with respect side body unit.